They're Gonna Put Me In The Movies!

I got some exciting news yesterday and I thought I'd mention it here. But due to the natural secrecy of the industry, I'm going to have to leave a lot unsaid here. I'll drop clues. You fill in the rest. Ask questions below, if anything is unclear.

Saturday afternoon I got a call from a person I'd never met before from a local casting agency. They still had my resume and headshot from when I auditioned for them in 2004, for the Batman Begins. They were looking to book me to appear as an extra in a movie that's filming here in Chicago, right now.

There are currently two movies filming in Chicago this summer, that I know about.

One of them is a Dennis Quaid football movie.

The other one is the sequel to a very popular comic book movie about a guy who puts on a black suit and fights crime and in this movie has to defeat a guy who dresses up like a clown and menaces people and whatnot.(Got all of that?)




The casting company was calling me about the football movie. They need guys to go up to Evanston on Friday and Saturday and be football fans in the stadium. I called them back and booked the work with them. As luck would have it, I wasn't scheduled to work on Friday anyways. And I don't have to be anywhere on Saturday, until the evening. So this could work out pretty well.

Plus, it's a paying gig. So, I'll get paid to sit in a stadium and watch them film a football movie.




Some interesting quirks about the gig.

-I have to shave on Thursday night. They want clean-shaven faces on all of their extras.
-I have a "costume" that they want me to wear. Khaki pants, a neutral, button up shirt and a light colored jacket of some kind. Black dress shoes. Apparently, the movie takes place in the 1950's and they want clothes that approximate this look.
-They're going to give me a haircut onset. I see a buzz cut in my immediate future.
-We're going to be fed onset by craft services. (This will be the first time in my life that I've ever gotten to eat graft services. I am excited to eat a meal with people who are in the movie business.)
-I've been told to bring a book. As there will be A LOT of downtime. Also, sun-screen, snacks and a water bottle.

And, if I am available, there's more work on Thursday of next week. So, I might be back onset again, doing more of the same, next week.

Look, I know that this isn't my big break. I honestly am not expecting to stand out or to get exposure or launch a career from this. I am just excited to be a part of a movie shoot and to see the directors and cameras and actors. I am excited by the prospect of being part of the process. I love movies. I love watching them. I think I'll love watching one being made.

Additionally, I am hoping to make a good impression with the casting company and maybe get assigned to that other movie that's filming in Chicago this summer. You know, the one where the guy in the clown makeup fights the playboy millionaire who dresses up like a flying rat and patrols his city.

Yeah, that one.



So, if you're looking for me on Friday or Saturday, check Evanston, IL. in the 1950's. I've got two days of football to be watching!

Cheers,
Mr.B